NYTS Joins Faith Leaders in Taking the Matthew 25 Pledge

“I pledge to protect and defend vulnerable people in the name of Jesus.”

At a time when our country and our churches are ever more divided by politics and partisan rancor, we as faith leaders must return to the truth of the gospel. That is why we root ourselves in the text of Matthew 25: 31-46. Jesus says clearly, “As you have done to the least of these, you have done to me.” Based on those words, the pledge is short, simple, and rooted in the Mt. 25 text: “I pledge to protect and defend vulnerable people in the name of Jesus.” The strength of the Matthew 25 pledge is that it roots us in a biblical response to protecting vulnerable people instead of a political one. We are facing distinct threats to individual human rights and religious liberties in this country. We cannot remain silent. We have all devoted our lives’ work for faith and justice to prepare for such a time as this. It is important that people across this country see that the church is unified against racist, anti-immigrant, xenophobic, and Islamaphobic policies. We must remember that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, political darkness, and spiritual forces of evil. The pledge has been endorsed by a broad and diverse group of over one hundred faith leaders.

People are feeling a need to act. Matthew 25 can lead us in what to do. And so the Matthew 25 Pledge was created — just one sentence which simply says: I pledge to protect and defend vulnerable people in the name of Jesus. Clearly, many people in America are feeling quite vulnerable right now, but the Matthew 25 Movement — a broad collection of national faith-based groups, grassroots activists, heads of denominations and more — is focusing on three groups of people who are especially at risk under a Trump administration. So here we offer our starting point, pledging to:

Support undocumented immigrants threatened with mass deportation; and advocate on behalf of refugees who are being banned from coming to America.

Stand with African Americans and other people of color threatened by racial policing.

In line with our commitment to religious liberty we will defend the lives and religious liberty of Muslims, threatened with “banning,” monitoring, and even registration.

This is the beginning. This is where to start now. But if and when other groups of people are targeted by government decisions or by hateful cultural responses, we who sign the Matthew 25 Pledge will also seek to surround and protect them. Rather than just watching, grieving, and feeling sorry for what is happening to the most marginalized, who are named in the 25th chapter of Matthew, we can pledge to join together in circles of support in the name of Jesus.